Study Participation

Fibroid Growth Study (FGS)

What was the purpose of this study?

The purpose of this study was to learn more about why some fibroids grow to become problems for women while other fibroids do not.

What was asked of participants?

Made one to four visits over a one-year period to a clinic at UNC Medical Center. Each of these visits took approximately half a day. These visits included:

• Measuring pulse, blood pressure, height, weight, waist and hip circumference
• Giving urine and blood samples
• Having a specialized picture of fibroids taken using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) (http://www.cis.rit.edu/htbooks/mri/), the best clinical technique

Completed a telephone questionnaire every month for 12 months.

• The first interview took approximately an hour.
• Each month, the interviewer called each participant for an update interview. These interviews took approximately 20 minutes.

Clinic appointments and telephone interviews were scheduled at times that were convenient to the participant.

How did treatment of fibroids affect participation in the study?

The participant discussed all treatment options with a physician.. If the participant and physician decided that surgery was the best option, the participant was asked to:

• Donate surgical tissue that would normally be discarded.
• In the case of a myomectomy (removal of fibroids only), donate a small piece of normal uterine tissue from an incision already made during surgery.

Reasons for study participation?

• Participants and their physicians had access to state-of-the-art images of participants' fibroids to help determine treatment options.
• Participants were part of a study that may benefit many other women.
• Participants were paid for participating.

Payment Schedule

A $100 check was mailed to participants approximately two to three weeks after each MRI visit, up to four visits. Payments ranged between $100 and $400 depending on the number of visits.

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